Teachers share ideas in Education Show seminars

When it comes to canny classroom advice, the Education Show is the place to be. Experienced practitioners will be on hand for insider knowledge and tips on what keeps pupils alert, engaged and inspired

Teaching like Poppy: Sally Hawkins’ character (above) brought the fun back into learning in Mike Leigh’s film, Happy-Go-Lucky. Photograph: Alamy

Whether it's a foolproof lesson plan, listening to pupils, or tailoring lessons to their interests, the best teachers always have their own secrets when creating a happy classroom. Visitors to this year's show will have the chance to learn some of these secrets, and reveal their own, at one of more than 80 seminars, with subjects ranging from Shakespeare for the early years to inspiring creativity.

Sue Palmer, writer, broadcaster and consultant on the education of young children, will share her latest thoughts on why boys are underperforming, blaming it on an education system which isn't geared to their needs.

"We've got to stop concentrating on raising boys' achievements," she says, arguing that this usually means getting them to do things for which they are not yet ready. Boys develop their motor skills later than girls, and communication skills seem to come to them less naturally, she says. So she recommends lots of outdoor play, which develops social skills, with an emphasis on physical co-ordination, which helps them to sit still.

She also wants more music in primary classrooms. "Children in Finland move and dance to music all the way through kindergarten and that's really important for learning to read," says Palmer. "A kindergarten teacher told me 'music trains the mind to pattern and the ear to sound'.

That's exactly what you want to do." Storytelling is vital, too. "As well as socialising boys, traditional storytelling encouraged loyalty and heroism and courage," she says. "They were teaching the young not only narrative language and patterns but encouraging eye contact and body language."

While we emphasise literacy, "stories and song, music, outdoor play, being physically active and exploratory: that's what you see in the successful kindergartens of the world," says Palmer.

Jaz Ampaw-Farr, teacher and founder of Which Phonics?, says she uses football phonics for boys, sometimes taking them outside for literacy lessons. "If your kids are into the Beano or football, that's what you use," she says. "You are competing with the Wii so use your interactive whiteboard and get at the exciting stuff out there. Find out what kids are watching on the TV, get into Nickelodeon, and use it."

She has used songs from the Ting Tings to teach speaking and reading because she has found that that is what kids enjoy. It is also important to look for ways to praise the children, she says. "You just have to be the best version of yourself, backed up with teaching methods which work. Kids respond to that. I know it's the hardest job in the world apart from being a mum, and some days you have to drag yourself out, but you're lost if you share that with the kids."

Kevin Harcombe, headteacher of Redlands primary in Fareham and a former national primary head of the year, believes communicating well with children is the main factor in making the classroom a happier environment.

He advises starting at the end of the summer term with the incoming class. "The teacher can start to talk to the children about the learning they are going to do so they are really involved," he says. "It's good to discuss what they know about something and give them the chance to demonstrate their existing knowledge and skills. You can do this week by week or when starting a topic."

He also suggests consulting the pupils on classroom layout and content: should there be a book corner, a maths table? And where should they be? He says this approach is very useful for the quiet children who just get on with their work. "Teachers need to make a conscious effort," he says.

Ampaw-Farr agrees. "Happy classroom? You get out what you put in," she says. "I always have chocolate biscuits in the classroom because they get hungry."